A consistently good, winning team will increase gates. You will get the thousands of latent RL fans, plus the hangers on who will follow anything with England on the badge as long as it is winning.
I take your point about the crowd having some influence on the result, but that effect is minscule compared to having a good team on the pitch.
I don't understand what English crowds have to do with the Australian antipathy towards international RL though. Surely that is because the Australians have stuffed us inside out for the last 40 years, and their supporters don't want to turn up to watch another thrashing. The only way to increase interest in that case is to be competitive on the field.

OK, if that's what you think, then fine.
However, I think it's odd that some posters are far more interested in what is happening in the seats than what is happening on the pitch. RL is a great sport, and if those guys are willing to continue to put their bodies through it, then I would turn up on my own to watch them do it.

Please add Fittler to the ever growing list of know nothing Aussies who have embarrassed themselves by not knowing anything about the game outside of their own back yard.
Phil Gould, Ricky Stuart, Brad Fittler......... I would go on, but my whinging genes are nowhere near well developed enough.
Cue various Aussie posters wading in and telling me how insignficant I am, and how SL is a second rate comp, blah, blah, blah. Luckily I have the majority of them on ignore.

What's that got to do with anything?
This is an award for international performances, not a selling handicap. Also, in my opinion, Makinson has been a very good player for far longer than either of the other two have been very good players.
All this fawning over foreign players to the detriment of our own is embarrassing.

Not me. I've been saying for ages that Makinson deserves a chance in the England team. He was given his chance, and he took it.
It's not his fault that the criteria has been changed. Based on his performances in the tests he has played, he is a deserving winner.
Having said that, I feel dirty now having supported a Saints player, but credit where it is due.
Well done Tommy.